Time to Wake Up

I sat on a bench in front of my apartment and waited for Mr. Perez's reply. Finally, when the sky had turned bright, he replied, "The position was filled after you rejected the offer. I did everything I could to get you a promotion, but you'll have to work in the mountains for one year as part of an aid group. The living conditions there are terrible.

"Also, didn't you say that you're planning to settle down here after getting married? You should consider it properly."

"I've thought it through, Mr. Perez. I'm willing to head to the mountains," I typed in my response to him.

It went through right before my phone ran out of battery, and I heaved a sigh of relief.

Throughout the past eight years, I'd always give myself excuses to forgive Harold no matter what he'd done.

This time, though, I was truly exhausted.

The moment I got ready to head home, a hand closed around my wrist and yanked. "Why didn't you tell me after you reached the apartment?"

I looked up to see Harold's furious expression, and I felt cold. He'd been busy canoodling with Elise—he was probably worried that I'd barge in at the wrong time and catch them in the act.

I couldn't be bothered to expose him, so I merely said calmly, "My phone ran out of battery."

He scrutinized me doubtfully. When he saw nothing out of the ordinary on my face, he softened. Surprisingly, he took notice of the bruises on my arm.

He'd broken his promise to marry me once because the lighting was bad. When I climbed up to adjust the lights, I fell down from the ladder and was bruised.

"Why did you hurt yourself so badly?" he asked. "I'll drive you to the hospital."

The bruises did hurt, so I didn't say no. I got into the car after him.

The moment I pulled the door to the passenger seat open, he quickly snatched something up and tucked it into his pocket.

The fabric of a pair of lacy panties peeked out of his bulging pockets. I pretended I didn't see anything as I buckled my seatbelt.

A few minutes after he started driving, a unique ringtone belonging to Elise echoed in the car. He glanced at me and declined the call, but then he began typing rapidly on the screen, an indulgent smile on his face.

We drove by the hospital, but he had no plans to stop.

"Elise said that she wanted breakfast from Ron's, but she was late and didn't get to line up," he said. "We have Band-Aids at home; you can use them."

His gaze met mine in the rearview mirror. He averted his gaze awkwardly and explained, "She's your younger sister—there's no better choice for your maid of honor. I had her stay at our place for now."

His efforts to cover things up were futile. My chest hurt, as it usually did, and I took a deep breath.

He knew that Elise's mother had, in an attempt to marry my father, forced my mother into committing suicide. He'd also witnessed Elise lead the group of bullies who cornered me in the restroom, grabbed my hair, and beat me up.

How could he still say something so absolutely ludicrous?

"I'm not related to that homewrecker's daughter."

The moment I finished my sentence, he abruptly stepped hard on the brakes. Not expecting that, my head collided against the door.

Harold, who'd always been gentle and refined, was now castigating me with a furious expression. "I didn't expect these words from a psychiatrist, of all people! How could you be so cruel? No wonder your father kicked you out of the house!

"Your mother jumped from a building because she couldn't take it, because she was mentally weak. It has nothing to do with Elise and her mom!

"Do you know how guilty Elise feels because of this? If you insist on obsessing over this, Shana, you'll end up like your mother one day!"

Strangely, when I looked at his twisted face, the image of Harold in his teens appeared in my mind.

When I'd almost killed myself from depression, it was Harold who had held tightly onto me and refused to let go.

"Even if everyone else abandons you, Shana," he said, "you still have me. I'll always be by your side."

It was also Harold who'd walked with me to school and back. He'd been worried that Elise would bully me, so he'd waited for me beside the female restroom despite the weird looks he received.

Since when was this young man in my memories—one who'd protect me no matter what—gone for good?